Comments

On the 20th July the Ministry officially announced the new title for Graphics.
Debate over the name began at the start of the year with several suggestions.
The one generally preferred and accepted being Design and Visual Communications.
On the 20th came a complete new title Visual Communications for Technologies.
This new name has two major issues:
1. The dropping of the word Design
2. The sudden appearance of the word Technologies.

Feedback to date has totally rejected the new title with many now calling for Graphics to remain perhaps with communication or as it has and still is registered for the last ten years Design Graphics and Communication.

Some outside of the secondary education sector believe that Graphics has no meaning or understanding.
Yet level 6 diploma courses at Natcoll in Auckland , Wellington and Christchurch offer a very popular course in Graphic Design.
The word design belongs to all and in many cases is entirely appropriate and widely used in titles.
Perhaps more should check their copy of Collins Concise Thesaurus to look for the true value and meaning in a word.
GRAPHICS = pictorial / seen, drawn, visible, visual, illustrative, diagrammatic, representational, expressive, scenic, vivid, drawn, striking.
What a great title now I know why it is being used and means so much to so many.
Have your say and support your association .
Max Maddison
President
NZ Graphics TTA

At 2.00 pm Friday the 30th July the ministry representative Tony Turnock informed me a decision had been made that the name of the body of knowledge and skills is to be Design and Visual Communication

This is the title supported by the vast majority who contributed to our consultation process over the past week.
Thank you for your prompt and detailed response that enabled me and Motu to address yesterday’s crucial meeting with clear and positive objectives.
We are grateful that the ministry has acknowledged that the process had broken down and we needed to find a way forward.
This we will do by rebuilding trusts and relationships with the current system.

The issues dealt with over the past two weeks clearly highlight the need for strong and active subject associations .
Max Maddison
President

Hi, as a department my staff and I have just finished writing units of work that incorporate the components of technology at years 9 and 10.
It really makes the new generic standards for Technology so much easier to understand. To be quite honest, we see that the possibilities for building effective courses in all areas of Technology are excellent. My school requires us to deliver between 18 and 24 credit courses and there are just so many options for hard materials that I could easily choose from 32 credits plus and end up with enough variety to suit all students different learning styles. For example, I will definitely consider doing the freehand drawing std in my Tech class as a replacement for one of the more literacy inclined stds where a student is challenged with being able to write their thoughts down.